The Hills Run Red (1966)

At the close of the Civil War, friends Jerry Brewster (Thomas Hunter) and Ken Seagull (Nando Gazzolo) have made off with a wagon filled with $600,000 intended to purchase weapons. Suddenly, Union troopers are closing in.

They come to a decision, one will make off with the cash. The other will stay on the wagon and try to avoid capture. They’ll split cards to decide who does what. Jerry loses, but gets Ken to promise to look after his wife and young son should he be caught.

Five years later, Jerry is released from prison and heads back to Texas, looking forward to a long overdue reunion with his family. He arrives to find his ranch abandoned. But there’s a journal written by his wife. Seems Seagull didn’t fulfill his promise, refused to loan her money and returned from the war with a story about Jerry being killed.

Jerry soon learns that his wife is dead; his son is being raised by a local blacksmith. And he wants vengeance. That’s if Seagull doesn’t have him killed first. He already has paid gunmen on Jerry’s trail. But Jerry has a mysterious ace up his sleeve — a man named Getz (Dan Duryea) who shows up determined to help him, though Jerry can’t figure out why.

Review:

Entertaining, well-done film complete with a rousing Ennio Morricone score. Thomas Hunter is convincing in the lead role. Dan Duryea gets to play a good guy for a change. Nando Gazzolo is a suitably slimy villain, who has others do his dirty work because he can’t stand blood.

The performance that stands out, for better or worse, is that of Henry Silva. He’s completely over the top as Milton’s lead henchman, with a maniacal laugh, a thirst for blood and a lustful eye for Milton’s sister (Nicoletta Machiavelli), though she can’t stand him.

There’s even family appeal to the film since Brewster is reunited with his son (Loris Loddi). Brewster makes an odd motion with his hand whenever he’s hoping for good luck. Seems his long-lost son still uses that good-luck sign.

In one of the more memorable scenes, Brewster convinces Getz to cut a tattoo off his forearm and deliver it to Milton as proof that he’s dead.

Directed by:
Carlo Lizzani

Cast:
Thomas Hunter … Jerry Brewster / Houston
Nando Gazzolo … Ken Seagull / Milton
Dan Duryea … Getz
Henry Silva … Garcia Mendez
Nicoletta Machiavelli … Mary Ann
Loris Loddi … Tim Brewster
Gianna Serra … Hattie Gardner
Geoffrey Copleston … Horner
Paolo Magalotti … Stayne
Guido Celano … Burger (blacksmith)

aka:
Un fiume di dollari
River of Dollars

Score: Ennio Morricone (listen below)
Song: “Home to My Love” sung by Gino

Runtime: 89 min.

Memorable lines:

Ken Seagull: “Six hundred thousand dollars. All in one swoop. You know, Jerry, it would buy a lot of land and horses. When I think this money was supposed to buy cannon, it gives me the creeps.”
Jerry Brewster: “You’ll get the creeps if they get their hands on you. That’s government money.”

Mendoza to Brewster: “I’m not going to kill you, stranger. You’re a champion. And you don’t kill champions, you race them.”

Milton to Brewster, after a herd of his horses have been rustled: “Why did you do it?”
Brewster: “Why? Look at me, Seagull. Talk a good long look. Don’t you recognize me. The man whose wife you killed. The man who spent five long years in prison so you could wallow in your stinking money. That’s why I did it. So one day I could see you crawling on your knees, begging for mercy. And then .. then, I would crush you like a worm!”

Trivia:

Loris Loddi’s screen debut was in 1962’s “Cleopatra.” He played the son of Cleopatra (Elisabeth Taylor) and Giulio Cesare (Rex Harrison). Age 9 when this film was released, he continued acting through 2009 and also worked in dubbing, as the Italian voice of Val Kilmer and other U.S. stars in films like “Batman Forever” and the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy.

This was the only Spaghetti Western and one of the last films for Dan Duryea, though he went on to star in the TV series “Peyton Place” after its release. He died in June 1968 of cancer at age 61. His last film would be the low-budgt sci-fi film “Bamboo Saucer,” released the same year he died.